"Art evokes the mystery without which the world would not exist."

ìThe Son of Manî -- the infamous man with a green apple in front of his face -- is his best-known work, but Rene Magritte did not produce that painting until he was 66.

Born in Belgium and trained at the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Magritte initially worked as an advertising artist.Ý In 1926 he joined the Surrealists.Ý This movement stressed the importance of liberating the mind by embracing the ìunconsciousî in an attempt to transcend reality. Magritte and other Surrealists achieved this effect by distorting the laws of space, using absurd scale, and contrasting everyday subjects to create a dream-like terrain.

Regarded as a talented draftsman and consummate cerebral painter, Magritteís astounding body of work stretched over 1000 canvases and 69 years. Today his paintings can be seen in museums and private collections around the globe.